DIARY 



OF THE 



REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY 

1735 



EDITED BY 

HENRY WINCHESTER CUNNINGHAM 



, •*i»> >i^L<M& ^3K.& **1 -jffia- w 



^iKtbib, 



MDCCXXXV. 



The MeiV'Efjglaftd DiSLty: Or, 

ALMANACK 

For the Year of out Lord C H R I S T^ 
I 7 3 5. 

feeing the Third Year of 'SifextiU, and 

The Crettiqn of the World,— 568 
Noab's Flood. ,,.:— 402 

Building of London^ 'i 2842 



§m1fC* 



Settlement of New.Eugland, -——o i a 6/ 
^Building of BojioTi, o 105' 

Greac Fire in Bojion,' < - — o 025 



^Ycirs 



Applies^ the Horizon of BO STON, io N. E. where 
Che MnT) Pole is raifed, and the Scrub Pole U de. 

frcfled equal CO an Angle of 42 deg. 25. win, Nortlf, 
S&^ Meridian 4 b. 44 rn. Wefi of London. 

By a Native of IJew- England, 



AND for tie Heav'vs »jde Circuit, iei it /feak 
Tie Miken 7/igh J^hgwficevce, vhohitlt 
Ho fpacioiis, and his Lintfitetiht out fofat ; 
ThaiJiJan may know he dwells not in iisvimi 
An^ Ed.fice too targe for bim tofiS, - 
Lodged in a fmall Partition, . and the tefi 
Ordain' d Jot Ufa to bis Lord iefi knovm. 

Milton*f Pair. loft. 



BO SrO N^'m New-England, 
Prmted by T. Fleety for the Bookfellers, and 
fold at their Shops..! 735. 



^- 



'la*" 






DIARY 



OF THE 



REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY 

1735 

EDITED BY 

HENRY WINCHESTER CUNNINGHAM 



REPRINTED FROM 

THE PUBLICATIONS 

OF 

^\)t Colonial J>octft^ of !lll^n0s;acl)us;cttsf 
Vol. XII 



CAMBRIDGE 
JOHN WILSON AND SON 

Slnibcvsitg ^xtss 
1909 



^ g\ 



G 



Gift 
Edito- 

11 S '09 






DIARY OF 

THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY 

1735 



DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735. 

A short time ago there fell into my hands a copy of The New-Eng- 
land Diary: Or, Almanack For the Year of our Lord Christ, 1735, 
that was interleaved and filled with comments by the Rev. Samuel 
Checkley on various happenings in Boston during that year. There 
is much in this Diary that has more than a passing interest for the 
student of old Boston, and it covers a period when the records are 
surprisingly meagre. Judge Sewall's voluminous Diary had ended 
six years before, and by a singular fatality both town and church 
records during the early part and middle of the eighteenth century 
are either missing altogether, or else so little is recorded that they are 
of slight value. The records of Mr. Checkley's church, now in the 
custody of the City Registrar, contain no records of death, a fact that 
adds value to the burials recorded in this Diary. 

The Boston selectmen in the very year of this almanac expressed 
concern at the neglect of the inhabitants to record births and deaths; 
and Samuel Gerrish, the town clerk, recorded the negligence com- 
plained of, from which it appears that, for the fourteen months pre- 
ceeding, "more than 950 births and deaths" had occurred in the 
town of which no record had been handed in; "which neglect 
of theirs," he added "may prove to be of ill consequence to their 
posterity." ^ 

It is clear, therefore, that when a record of this character, made by 
an educated man of the dominant class, comes to light, it ought to 
be printed, that others may benefit by the discovery. 

From the earliest days, one or more almanacs had been published 

* Drake's History and Antiquities of Boston, p. 599. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 271 

in New England nearly every year, and found their way into the 
homes of the people, in many of which they shared with the Bible 
the distinction of being the only books in the house. Professor Moses 
Coit Tyler lays stress upon their value to students of early American 
literature and shows the influence they had upon the thought of the 
people. In speaking of the Ames almanacs, which continued longer 
than most others and were perhaps typical of all, he says : 

Nathaniel Ames made his almanac a sort of annual cyclopsedia of 
information and amusement, — a vehicle for the conveyance to the public 
of all sorts of knowledge and nonsense, in prose and verse, from literature, 
history and his own mind, all presented with brevity, variety, and infallible 
tact. . . . He carried into the furthest wildernesses of New England 
some of the best English literature; pronouncing there, perhaps for the 
first time, the names of Addison, Thomson, Pope, Dryden, Butler, 
Milton ; and repeating there choice fragments of what they had written. 

And in speaking of these books in general, he adds: 

Throughout our colonial time, when larger books were costly and few, 
the almanac had everywhere a hearty welcome and frequent perusal ; the 
successive numbers of it were carefully preserved year after year; their 
margins and blank pages were often covered over with annotations, 
domestic and otherwise. Thus, John Cotton, it will be remembered, 
used the blank spaces in his almanacs as depositories for his stealthy 
attempts at verse. So, also, the historian, Thomas Prince, recorded in 
his almanacs the state of his accounts with his hair-dresser and wig- 
maker.^ 

It is doubly interesting, then, in the book before us to find not only 
personal items jotted down, but also those happenings that were of 
consequence at the time to all Bostonians, and the exact dates of the 
funerals of members of the Rev. Mr. Checkley's church and of other 
prominent citizens. 

This almanac is one of a series styled "The New-England Diary: 
Or, Almanack" which began in 1723 and continued through 1738. 
The author was Nathan Bowen, though on several title-pages he 
omits his name and styles himself "a Native of New-England." The 
numbers from 1723 to 1733 inclusive were printed in Boston by Bar- 

' History of American Literature, ii. 120, 121, 123. 



272 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

tholomew Green who died December 28, 1732, and the next two 
numbers were probably printed by Thomas Fleet, who certainly 
printed the last two. The title-page of this issue for 1735 is interest- 
ing not only for its quaint facts, but for the quotation of seven lines 
from Paradise Lost, which shows that its author was one of those 
New Englanders who had some knowledge and appreciation of 
Milton's poems. ^ 

As the number of almanacs increased, the compilers evidently 
became keen rivals. Nathaniel Ames took Bowen to task for erratic 
calculations, and Bowen in his issue for 1730 replied: 

I have once more ventured into the world, notwithstanding a Repulse 
I met with the last Year, from a Young Stripling, who under the influence 
of Mercury, gave his Pen a Latitude beyond that of his Beard ; but let him 
know That tho' he hath so great a value for the ♦merits of his own per- 
formance, were I disposed to pick holes in his Coat, I should leave him 
in a ragged Condition; &ct. 

Not only in the printed pages for each month, but in the manuscript 
portions every Sunday is indicated by a letter E. This is the Dominical 
letter for the year 1735. As the first Sunday in the year came on the 
fifth day of the month, the fifth letter of the alphabet is used to indi- 
cate every Sunday during the year. 

The first owner of the Diary, who wrote the brief daily comments, 
was the Rev. Samuel Checkley, the first minister of the New South 
Church in Boston. Chcckley's father, also named Samuel, had come 
from Northampton in England in 1670 to Boston, where he mar- 
ried in 1680 Mary, daughter of Joshua Scottow. He served at various 
times as selectman, town clerk, county treasurer, and as a justice of 
the peace for the county, besides being a deacon of the Old South 
Church. He died full of years and honors December 27, 1738.^ 

The son Samuel, born February 11, 1695-96, graduated from 
Harvard in 1715, and studied for the ministry. On April 23, 1718, 
the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts, gave him an invitation "to 
settle among them in the work of the ministry," but he declined the 
call, possibly because there seemed to be some dissension in the 

* Sec remarks of Mr. Charles Francis Adams in 3 Proceedings of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society, ii. 154-170. , 

* New England Historical and Genealogical Register, ii. 351. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 273 

church/ When in 1719 the New South Church was estabhshed on 
Church Green near the foot of Summer Street, to meet the spiritual 
needs of the growing southerly section of the town, Checkley was 
called to become its first pastor. He married January 5, 1720-21, 
Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Benjamin Rolfe of Haverhill, who 
thirteen years before had miraculously escaped when her father and 
mother were murdered by the Indians.^ Mr. Checkley was esteemed 
as preacher and pastor, and under his long pastorate of over fifty 
years his*church grew and flourished, and he led the usual life of a 
Boston minister of the eighteenth century. His church continued as 
an active factor in the city down to our own time, when the meeting- 
house on Church Green yielded to the encroachments of business. 
It numbered among its pastors President Kirkland of Harvard, and 
the Rev. Dr. Alexander Young, who bore testimony to the fact that 
the church records were admirably kept during the fifty years of INIr. 
Checkley's labors.^ 

The Rev. Samuel Checkley delivered the Artillery Election Sermon 
in 1725. In his Diary under date of June 7 of that year Jeremiah 
Bumstead says: 

Mr. Checkly preacht to y® artillery from 2 Samuel, 22, 35, "he teacheth 
my hands to war." Not an hour in sermon & last singing.* 

Mr. Checkley published the following sermons : ^ 

* Mirick, History of Haverhill, p. 139. 

2 New England Historical and Genealogical Register, ii. 353. 
» Ibid. ii. 351 note. 

* New England Historical and Genealogical Register, xv. 204. 

* The reason for giving these titles at such length is that no complete list of 
Mr. Checkley's printed sermons has been made and that hitherto the writings 
of Mr. Checkley and those of his son, the Rev. Samuel Checkley, Jr., have been 
confused. Thus three sermons have been attributed to our Mr. Checkley 
which were really preached by his son, pastor of the Second (or North) Church, 
as is proved by the following title-pages: 

The Character and Hope of the Righteons Consider'd, in a Sermon Preach'd the 
Lord's-Day after the Funeral of Madam Lydia Hutchinson, the Virtuous Consort Of 
Tlie Honourable Edward Hutchinson, Esq; Who departed this Life, July 10. 1748. 
Aged 61. By Samuel Checkley, A.M. Pastor of the second Church of Christ in Boston. 
Boston, 1748. 

The Duty of God's People when engaged in War. A Sermon Preached at the North- 
Church of Christ in Boston, Sept. 21. To Captain Thomas Stoddard, and his Company ;_, 

18 



274 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

1. The Duty of a People, to lay to Heart and Lament the Death of a 
Good King. A Sermon Preach'd August 20th. 1727, The Lord's-Day 
after the Sorrowful News of the Death of Our Late King George I. Of 
Blessed Memory. Boston, no date. A second edition was printed, 
also undated. 

2. The Death of the godly, and especially of the faithful gospel Minis- 
ters, the greatest loss to survivers. A Sermon Preached September 17th. 
1727. The Lord's-day after the Funeral of the Reverend Mr. William 
Waldron. Boston, 1727. 

3. Mr. Checkley's Sermons to a Condemned Prisoner.* Boston, 
1733. 

4. Little Children brought to Jesus Christ. A Sermon Preached in 
private May 6. And afterwards in publick, June 14. 1741. upon a sorrow- 
ful Occasion. And published at the Desire of One that heard it. 
Boston, 1741. 

5. Prayer a Duty when God's People go forth to War. A Sernjon 
Preach'd Feb. 28. 1744, 5. Being a Day of publick Fasting and Prayer, 
To ask in particular. That it would please God to succeed the Expe- 
dition formed against his Majesty's Enemies, &C. Boston, 1745. 

6. A Day of Darkness. A Sermon Preach'd before His Excellency 
WiUiam Sliirley, Esq; The Honourable His Majesty's Council, and 
House of Representatives, Of the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay, 
in New England : May 28*^^- 1755. Being the Anniversary for the Election 
of His Majesty's Council for said Province. Boston, 1755. 



On Occasion of their going against the Enemy. By Samuel Checkley, A.M. Pastor of 
said Church. Boston, 1755. 

The Christian triumphing over Death through Christ. A Sermon Preached Novem- 
ber 10. 1765. At the second Church of Christ, in Boston; Upon a mournful Occasion. 
Published with some Enlargements. By Samuel Checkley, jun'r. Pastor of said Church. 
Boston, 1705. The " mournful Occasion " was the death of " Mrs. Mary Gallop, Widow, 
aged 37 Years." 

» The words in the text are those of the half-title, missing in some copies. 
There were three sermons, each separately paged, but with a continuous register. 
The titles are as follows : 

Murder a great and crying Sin. A Sermon Preach'd on the Lord's-Day March 4th. 
1732-3. To a poor Prisoner Under Sentence of Death foV that Crime. 

Mercy with God for the chief of Sinners. A Sermon Preacli'd on the Lord's Day 
March 4th To a Prisoner Under Sentence of Death for Murder. 

Sinners minded of a future Judgment. A Sermon Preached to, and at the Desire 
of, A Condemned Prisoner, March 18th. 1732-3. Being the Lord's-Day before liis 
Execution. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 275 

In addition to the above sermons, Mr. Clieckley's "Charge" at 
the ordination on October 29, 1746, of the Rev. WiUiam Vinal at 
Newport Rhode Island, was printed at Newport in 1747 in the Ser- 
mon preached upon the occasion by the Rev. Joseph Fish of Stoning- 
ton; ^ and his "Charge" at the ordination on April 30, 17G6, of the 
Rev. Penuel Bo wen as his own colleague-pastor at the New South 
Church was printed in the Sermon then preached by the Rev. Dr. 
Charles Chauncy.^ » 

Mr. Checkley became distinguished through his posterity, since 
his daughter Elizabeth was the first wife of the patriot Samuel Adams 
and his son Samuel (H. C. 1743) was pastor of the Second Church 
in Boston, while a daughter of the latter married the Rev. Dr. John 
Lathrop, pastor of the same church, and from the last named was 
descended John Lothrop Motley. 

Boston in 1735 had over 4,000 houses and about 17,000 inhabit- 
ants; there were nine Congregational and two Church of England 
churches, with a third (Trinity) just beginning; one Baptist, one 
French Protestant, and a Quaker Meeting.^ There were five weekly 
newspapers.* 

In reading this Diary one is struck by the number of times the 
author exchanged pulpits, or had other ministers preach in his church, 
as well as by the distance from which many of them came. In those 
days it was something of a trip from Boston to Scituate, Barnstable, 
Haverhill, or Salisbury; yet ministers from all those places as well as 
from Hampton, New Hampshire; Biddeford, Maine; Lebanon, 
Connecticut; and from the Connecticut valley filled his pulpit. Of 
course, many of them had come to Boston on visits, drawn hither 
for various reasons, and it is only natural that they should have 
preached for some brother minister while here. 

The Boston ministers, Thomas Foxcroft, Joseph Sewall, Mather 
Byles, Joshua Gee, Charles Chauncy, Samuel Mather, Benjamin 
Colman, William Welsteed, and William Cooper are too well known 
to need comment here. On March 16 we find the Rev. John Cotton 

1 Pages 49-52. 

2 Pages 33-36. 

^ New England Historical and Genealogical Register, i. 134, ii. 353: Drake, 
History and Antiquities of Boston, p. 820; Boston Record Commissioners' Re- 
ports, vol. xxii. p. iv. 

* Publications of this Society, ix. 9. 



276 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

in the New South pulpit. He was a son of the Rev. Roland Cotton 
of Sandwich and great-grandson of the famous Rev. John Cotton of 
Boston. He graduated at Harvard in 1710 and was settled in 1714 
as the third minister of Newton, where he died May 17, 1757, in 
his sixty-fourth year. Jackson gives a long account of his youthful 
accomplishments and virtues and of the anxiety of the people of 
Newton to secure his services, and prints the laudatory inscription 
upon his tombstone, which is so long that it is difficult to see how one 
stone could hold it all.* Checkley returned this visit, for the entry 
is found on Friday, September 5: "w* to Newtown pr'^ M"" Cotton's 
Lecture." On June 1 and 29 the Rev. Ward Cotton of Hampton 
preached in Boston. He was a younger brother of the Newton 
pastor, who had preached the sermon at his ordination in Hampton 
in 1734. 

On May 25 Checkley preached in the Hollis Street Church and 
"M"" Eliot" preached for him; and again on October 12 we find Mr. 
Eliot in his pulpit. This was probably the Rev. Jacob Eliot, who 
graduated at Harvard in 1720 and was ordained in 1729 as the first 
pastor ^of the Goshen Church at Lebanon, Connecticut. His first 
wife was a daughter of the Rev. John Robinson of Duxbury. Eliot 
died April 12, 176G, in his sixty-sixth year.^ 

On June 15 Mr. Green of Barnstable preached in the New South 
in the afternoon. This was the Rev. Joseph Green, a classmate of 
Jacob Eliot at Harvard. He had been settled over the East Church 
at Barnstable in 1725, and continued his ministry there till his death 
in 1770 at the age of 70. The long inscription on his gravestone ends 
with the lines: 

Think what the Christian minister should be. 
You've then his character — for such was he. ^ 

Four times during the year members of the Gushing family preached 
for Checkley, and fortunately he has given a designation to each one 
so that they can be identified, for they were all near relatives. On 

1 History of Newton, p. 252. 

2 Spragvie, Annals of the American Pulpit, i. 322 note; Hine, Early Lebanon, 
p. 153. 

^ Allen, American Biographical and Historical Dictionary; Freeman, History 
of Cape Cod, i. 3G2, 56G. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 277 

June 8 came "M Gushing (of Dover)." This was the Rev. Jona- 
than Gushing of the Harvard Glass of 1712, who, hke Gheckley, had 
had a call (in 1716) to a Haverhill church and declined it,* and had 
taught school for a year or two at his boyhood home in Hingham. 
On September IS, 1717, he was settled over the parish at Dover, 
New Hampshire, at a salary of £90 a year, and in the following 
month he married his second cousin Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas 
Gushing of Boston. He was minister of that church for fifty-two 
years and until his death March 25, 1769, and for the last two years 
had as his colleague the Rev. Dr. Jeremy Belknap. In personal ap- 
pearance he is said to have been "a large, stout man of dignified 
appearance," and also that he was "a grave and sound preacher, a 
kind, peaceable, prudent and judicious pastor, a wise and faithful 
friend." ^ 

On July 6 is found the entry in the Diary "M*" Gushing (of Sals- 
bury)," on August 3 "M"" Gushing (of Haverhil)," and on Novem- 
ber 16 "M"" James Gushing." The last two items refer to the same 
man — the Rev. James Gushing (H. G. 1725), who became pastor 
of the North parish of Haverhill in 1730 and died there May 13, 
1764. He was a second cousin of the Dover minister and the son of 
the Rev. Galeb Gushing of Salisbury, who had filled Gheckley's 
pulpit on July 6. The latter was the ancestor of Galeb Gushing, the 
well-known lawyer and statesman. 

The note under July 20, "M'' Hinsdel p. m.," recalls an interest- 
ing character, Ebenezer Hinsdale of the Harvard Glass of 1727. He 
was ordained a missionary to the Indians in 1733, when the Rev, 
Joseph Sewall preached the ordination sermon.^ He seems to have 
gone at once to the Gonnecticut valley, where he entered with zeal 
into the work of a pioneer. He was chaplain of the troops stationed 
at Fort Dummer, and later built a grist mill near by. In 1753 the 
town of Hinsdale was incorporated and he was its first town clerk. 
He died January 6, 1763, at the age of 57, and on his gravestone he 
is called "Gol."* The Rev. Paul Goffin (H. G. 1759) of Wells, 

' Mirick, History of Haverhill, p. 138. 

^ J. S. Gushing, Gushing Genealogy, p. 34; J. Scales, Historical Memoranda 
of Dover, N. H. 

^ Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, i. 280 note. 

* H. Child, Gazetteer of Cheshire County, New Plampshire; New England 
Historical and Genealogical Register, ii. 208. 



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1000] DIARY OF THE REV. SAirUEL CHECKXZT, 1735 279 

Cneckley also notes the ordination of the Rev. Joseph. Stimpson 
of Charlestown over the South Preciact Church o£ ^'laldeo, on Sep- 
tember 24. CoreVa History of ^lalden gires a pathetic tale of this 
man's poverty and struggles. 

On October 5 is the entry "^P CambeE a. m." This was prob- 
ably the Rev. Othniel Campbell of the Harvard Class of 1728, a 
resident of the town of Plympton.^ In I73S he is found on the council 
of ministers and elders, mostly Plymouth County mea, who settled the 
dispute between the Rev. John Robinson and the people of Dusbury. 

On December 21 ^Ir. CheckleVs pulpit was fiHed in the morning 
by a classmate at Harvard, John Cleverly, a singular Tn a n . He had 
studied for the ministry, but probably never was ordained, and about 
th is period preached for a few years in Xew Jersey, at Elizabeth and 
Morristown. His ministrations not being suc-cessful, he retired from 
the pulpit and lived at Morristown somewhat of a hermit, tmmamed, 
and in straitened circumstances, till his death on December 31, 1776, 
at the age of 81.' 

In addition to the annual Fast on IVIarch 27, ^Ir. Checkley makes 
mention four times of fasts that were held in Boston during this year. 
First on ^lay 22 " at old Ch : " meaning probably the First Church. 
Next on June 24 "At our Ch:" and here he gives more than a brief 
line and speaks of the preaching and praying both morning and 
afternoon, showing that the people evidently gave up a whole dnj 
to these fasts. The other two were those at the Rev. ^Ir. Welsteed's 
New Brick Church on August 26, and at Charlestown on September 
23. In each case Checkley gives as the object of these fasts "the 
Revival of religion." Late in the previous year. Jonathan Edwards's 
sermon entitled A Divine and Supernatural Light, Immediately im- 
parted to the Soul by the Spirit of God, had started a revival in the 
Connecticut valley which was the forerunner of " the Great Awaken- 
ing" that came when George TVhitefield visited New England in 
1740. It has generally been supposed that the influence of the earlier 
revival did not reach as far as Boston. "The excitement," writes 
Palfrey, "which in Massachusetts had been, confined to towns on or 
near Cormecticut River, ceased after about six months." ^ And the 

^ Xew England Historical and Genealogical Register, xliv. 251. 

- F. Hatfield. History of Elizabetii, X. J., pp. 33S, 367. -565. 572, 629. 

' History of New England, v. 7. 



280 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

Rev. Alexander McKenzie says, "But Boston was yet to feel its 
power." ^ The term "revival of religion" had been in use for a 
generation or so in New England, and church fasts were common at 
that period; but perhaps the fasts mentioned by Mr. Checkley 
indicate the influence in Boston of the movement begun by 
Edwards. 

The annual Thanksgiving Day for 1735 came on Thursday, 
November 13, and Checkley notes that he preached all day. He 
also records that July 4 was Commencement at Cambridge and that 
it was a rainy day with northeast wind. That life in the days of 
the horse and the chaise was not without its excitements and even 
dangers, is shown by an accident that is thus recorded in the 
Weekly Journal of Monday, July 7: 

On Friday last the Day of the Commencement at Cambridge, a 
Person belonging to Milton, being mounted on his Horse, and riding 
homewards, was met by a Chaise which run against his Leg, and broke 
the same so dangerously, that his Life is in great hazzard. 

* Memorial History of Boston, ii. 231. Dr. McKenzie's account, it must be 
confessed, is somewhat confusing. He says: 

The new life began to appear in 1734, under the powerful preaching of Jonathan 
Edwards, at Northampton. It spread to the surrounding towns. It aroused the iuterest 
of the Boston churches. Dr. Colman wrote to Dr. Edwards for an account of the work, 
which was given in a letter long afterward published in London. The Boston ministers 
kept their people interested, and circulated among them Dr. Edwards's letter and several 
sermons which had been influential in the movement. The remarkable interest in the 
valley of the Connecticut was not of long continuance ; partly, it would seem, because 
so many had quickly felt the new life, and had come under its control, or turned away 
from it. But Boston was yet to feel its power. 

Edwards's letter to Colman was dated November 6, 1736, and was printed in 
abstract in the Appendix to the Rev. William Williams's Duty and Interest of a 
People, among whom Religion has been planted, to Continue Stedfast and Sin- 
cere in the Profession and Practice of it, published at Boston in 173G. The letter 
w^as printed in full in London in 1737 under the title of A Faithful Narrative of 
the Surprizing Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in North- 
ampton, and the Neighbouring Towns and Villages of New-Hampshire in New- 
England. This was reprinted in Boston in 173S. The London editors speak of 
"the Neighbouring Towns and Villages of New-Hampshire in New-England." 
This natural error was corrected by the Boston editors to "the Neighbouring 
Towns and Villages of the County of Hampshire, in the Province of the Massa- 
chusetts-Bay in New-England." 

At the time when Edwards started his movement, Whitefield was an under- 
graduate at Oxford. He first came to Georgia in 1738 and to Boston in 1740. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 281 

Among the most important items in the Diary are the burials 
recorded, and most of them were of Checkley's parishoners or neigh- 
bors. Unfortunately, however, he failed in many cases to give more 
than the surnames, so that identification is difficult; but extracts 
from the New England Weekly Journal for that year throw light 
upon many of the items. 

January 18, "old Cap* Bennet buried." This was John Bennet, 
styled a blacksmith, and probably in his early days a mariner, who 
had a dwelling-house at the South End, and seems to have owned a 
rather large piece of land stretching from Orange Street to the water.' 
The paper of Monday, January 20, states : 

On Wednesday last died here Capt. John Bennet in the 89th year of his 
Age; A Gentleman well known and respected among us; and was 
decently Interr'd on Saturday last. 

January 23, "Richard Flood buried." This man, too, was a mari- 
ner, and lived near the New South Church. He owned a house and 
land near the Bull Wharf; and Samuel Adams administered upon 
his estate.^ 

January 29, "old M"" Cunningham buried." This was Andrew 
Cunningham, a Scotchman, who was a resident of Boston as early 
as 1684, and lived on Newbury (now Washington) Street near the 
corner of Essex. He was the founder of his family in Boston and 
died January 27, 1735, aged 81.^ 

March 13, "M"" Burgain buried." This was Robert Burgain, 
mariner. 

April 16, "M"- Allen dy'd," and April 19 "M-" Silence Allen buried." 
The Weekly Journal of April 21 states : " Last week died Mr. Silence 
Allen, Cordwainer, a Person well known and respected among us." 
He had married January 20, 1692, Esther, daughter of Enoch Wis- 
wall of Boston,* and had been admitted to full communion with the 
New South Church May 7, 1727. 

April 23, "Cap* Arthur Savage buried," He was a man of 
some consequence in the town and has already been referred to 

» Suffolk Probate Files, no. 6672. 

=> Ibid. no. 6677. 

^ New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Iv. 305, Ixi. 303. 

* Ibid. xl. 59. 



282 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

in our Transactions.* The Weekly Journal of Monday, April 28, 
stated : 

On Wednesday last the Remains of Arthur Savage, Esq ; whose Death 
we mention'd in our last, were decently Interr'd. We are inform'd that 
he has left a Legacy 25 1. per Annum for some term of Years, to the Poor 
of the Town of Boston. 

May 24, "Madam Oliver buried." This was Governor Belcher's 
sister and she was of sufficient social prominence in the town to 
have her death noted in any diary. The Weekly Journal of Mon- 
day, May 26, said : 

On Wednesday Morning died and on Saturday last was decently and 
honourably Interred, Madam Elizabeth Oliver, Relict of the late Honour- 
able Daniel Oliver Esq ; and Sister to His Excellency Governour Belcher. 

June 4, "Cap* Dorby buried." The Weekly Journal of Monday, 
June 2, said: "Yesterday died in an advanced Age Capt. Eleazer 
Darby of this Place." 

June 9, "Deacon Powning buried." This was Daniel, the son of 
Henry and Elizabeth Powning, in his 74th year, who had been dis- 
missed from the Old Church, and on August 7, 1720, was admitted 
to full communion in the New South. The Weekly Journal of Mon- 
day, June 9, speaks of him as follows: "On Friday last died here 
Mr. Daniel Pounding, Deacon of the New South Church; and who 
for many Years has had the care of the Powder-House." Sewall 
mentions him several times, and on January 20, 1719-20, mentions 
a visit to his mother, who must have flattered the Judge, for he 
records: "Mrs Powning will be 90. years old next February; I gave 
her two Crowns, which she very kindly received. Is very hard of 
hearing, very loansome, spake very well of my Match." 

July 15, "M^ John Fitch buried." The Weekly Journal of Mon- 
day, July 14, records: "On Thursday last died here Mr. John Fitch, 
only son of the Hon. Col. Thomas Fitch, in the 26**^ year of his age." 
He had received his A.B. at Harvard in 1727, his A.M. in 1730, and 
had married Martha, daughter of Anthony Stoddard.^ 

' Publications, vi. 47. 

^ This Anthony Stoddard — he married Martha Belcher, a sister of the Madam 
Oliver whose burial is recorded by Mr. Checkley — who was born in 1678, who 
graduated at Harvard College in 1697, and who died in 1748, should not be 
confused with his first cousin, the Rev. Anthony Stoddard, who was also born 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 283 

September 3, "Madam Palmer buried." The Weekly Journal 
of Tuesday, June 2, has : " On Thursday night last died here Madam 
Palmer, the virtuous Consort of the Hon, Judge Palmer, and we 
hear is' to be Interred tomorrow," It is probably her house, near 
Fort Hill, that Checkley records as having been struck by lightning 
on July 28. 

November 15, "M" Luce buried," The Weekly Journal of Tues- 
day, November 18, makes brief mention of this death: "On Monday 
nijrht last Mrs, Elizabeth Luce, the consort of Mr, Peter Luce, died 
in a Convidsion Fit after a very short illness." The Boston News- 
Letter of November 14 states that she was "Sister to Col, Estes 
Hatch," 

December 2, "^M"" Jn« Davenport buried." This was the son of 
Addington and Elizabeth Davenport, He graduated at Harvard in 
1721, married in 1733 Abigail, daughter of Thomas Hutchinson, 
and died on November 27, 1735, at the age of 32. The Weekly 
Journal of Tuesday, December 2, has: 

On Thursday last died here much lamented, INIr. John Davenport, in 
the Prime of Life, he had an Education at Harvard College, and was for 
Some Years, a beloved Tutor in tliat Society — we hear he is to be interr'd 
this Day. 

Mr. Checkley mentions two other burials that are worthy of note. 

April 19, "Rev^ M-" Tayler's wife of Milton buried," John Taylor 
graduated at Harvard in 1721, was ordained over the church in Milton 
in 1728, and continued there till his death in 1749. He married April 
9, 1730, Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Nathaniel Rogers of Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, who was probably a sister of the wife of the 
Rev. Joshua Gee of Boston. 

April 1, "D"- Colmans Daug-" Turil buried at Medford." This 
was Jane, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Colman of the Church 
in Bratde Square, who was born in 1708 and married at the age of 
eighteen to the Rev. Ebenezer Turell, pastor of the church in Med- 



in 1678, who also graduated at Harvard in 1697, but who died in 1760. The 
grandfather of Mrs. Fitch was Simeon Stoddard, whose sister Lydia married 
Samuel Turell and became the mother of the Rev. Ebenezer Turell mentioned 
in the text. Hence Turell, who graduated at Harvard only six years before 
Fitch, and Anthony Stoddard, the father of Fitch's wife, were first cousins. 



284 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

ford, who has been immortalized by Holmes in his poem entided 
"Parson Turell's Legacy." ^ Mrs. Turell died on March 26 at the 
early age of twenty-seven, leaving an infant son who died the follow- 
ing year. Mr. Turell did not long remain a widower, for the Weekly 
Journal of Tuesday, October 28, stated that " On Thursday Evening 
last the Rev. Mr. Turell of Medford, was married to Mrs. Lucey 
Davenport, daughter of the Hon. Judge Davenport of this Town." 
He thus became a brother-in-law of the John Davenport whose 
burial took place on December 2, and the two men had been 
classmates at Harvard. 

The severity of the cold and the great quantity of snow that fell 
miffht well have made 1735 an "old fashioned winter," and a suffi- 
cient comment on the extent to which the cold got into the buildings 
is Mr. Checkley's entry for Sunday, January 19: "It was so cold a 
Lords Day that the water for Baptism was considerably frozen." 
March seems to have been a particularly stormy month with every 
kind of weather from thunder and lightning to snow. On June 14 
is found this item: "in some places there have been this week con- 
siderable frosts (& some Ice) which much hurt and Spoild the Eng- 
lish Grain;" and again, on October 30, occurs the record of such a 
severe snow storm and cold that a man was found frozen to death. 

During the year several casualties of local importance are men- 
tioned, such as the striking by lightning on April 7 of the ball on the 
steeple of the Old South Church, and on June 28 of the drowning of 
the only son of Robert Hadwin, a lad twelve or thirteen years of age. 
He had gone in swimming just below the Common and had ventured 
beyond his depth. 

On July 7 is recorded the burning of Dr. Rand's "Still House," 
but the New England Weekly Journal of Monday, July 14, gives the 
building a slightly different name : " On Monday last a fire broke out 
at the South End of the town in a small building improved by Dr. 
Rand for boiling Varnish &ct. which was soon burned to the Ground 
but the Fire did no other damage." The owner of this building was 
probably Dr. Isaac Rand (1718-1790) of Charlestown and the father 
of the much more celebrated Dr. Isaac Rand of Boston.^ 

* See also p. 220, above. 

" Wyman, Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, ii. 7S5-7S6; Thacher, 
American Medical Biography, ii. 13-16. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 285 

July 29 must have been a day of excitement, for in the early morn- 
ing came the attempt to poison the Scarlet family. The Weekly 
Journal of August 4 gives a vivid picture of this "horrid Attempt 
[that] was made here" last Tuesday "to poison Mr. Humphry Scarlet 
of this Town, Victualler, his Wife and two Children" by two negroes 
in their employ, a man named Yaw and a boy named Caesar, who 
put lumps of "Arsenick" or ratsbane into a skillet of chocolate that 
was being prepared for breakfast. The long examination of these 
negroes is interesting, and their attempt to entangle a young negro 
woman in their crime met with a sudden end when she testified that 
she had herself been slightly poisoned by tasting the chocolate left in 
the skillet. The sequel is thus related in the Weekly Journal of 
Tuesday, September 2: 

On Fryday last the two Negroes (lately mentioned) belonging to Mr. 
Scarlet, who were try'd a few days before at the Assizes held here, & 
found Guilty of putting Poison into a Skillet of Chocolate, with a design 
to Poison the Family, had their Sentence given them, which is this, 
They are to sit on the Gallows for the Space of one Hour, with a Rope 
about their Necks, and the End of it thrown over the Beam, after which 
they are to be Whip'd 39 Lashes each on the bare Back at the Carts 
Tail, between the Gallows and the Prison. 

Later in the day came a tragedy near the water front. An attempt 
was made to open and clean an old well about thirty feet deep on 
Minot's Tee to the Long wharf, which had long been out of use, and 
into which had run sewage and other filth.* As the work progressed 
one of the workmen, John Torke of Boston, a married man between 
thirty and forty, was lowered into the well and as he descended 
seemed somewhat afi^ected by the gas and was raised to the surface 
where the fresh air revived him. He then made a second attempt, 
going further down, and became too much overcome to assist himself 
in getting out, when John Mack Nobb, a young sailor from a neigh- 
boring vessel, went down on the rope; but on his reaching Torke 
the additional weight sent them both to the bottom, where the gases 
suffocated them past resuscitation. 

Having spoken of church fasts and thanksgiving, let us now turn 
our attention to secular celebrations. Of these there were certainly 

• New England Weekly Journal of August 4. 



286 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

three, and probably four, in honor of the royal family. The birth- 
day of Queen Caroline occurred on March 1. Though neither the 
News-Letter nor the Weekly Journal mentions this event in 1735, 
yet no doubt it was observed ; and if so, its celebration was presum- 
ably not unlike the one three years earlier, thus recorded in the Weekly 
Journal of Monday, March 6, 1732: 

Wednesday last being the Anniversary of the Birth of her most gracious 
Majesty Queen CAROLINE, who then enter'd the 50th Year of her 
Age, the same was observed here with Demonstrations of Loyalty and joy. 
In the Evening there were Illuminations, particularly liis Excellency's 
Seat was finely Illuminated with several hundred Lamps. 

Next in order came the accession to the throne of George II on 
June 11, thus reported in the Weekly Journal of Monday, June 16, 
1735 : 

Wednesday last being the Anniversary of the happy Accession of our 
most gracious Sovereign King GEORGE the Second, to the Throne, 
when his Majesty enter'd the Ninth Year of his Reign, the same was 
observed here with the greatest Demonstrations of Loyalty and Joy: 
At Noon the Guns at his Majesty's Castle William, on board his Majesty's 
Ship Scarborough, and other Ships in the Harbour were discharged: 
His Excellency our Governour & several other Gentlemen were elegantly 
entertain'd at Dinner, by Capt. Durell,^ on board the Scarborough : And 
in the Afternoon the Regiment of Militia in this Town were mustered, 
and being drawn together in a Body on the Common, were reviewed by 
his Excellency, attended by a great Number of the principal Gentry in 
Town & Country, and Officers paying the proper Standing Salute as 
they pass'd along. After which his Excellency, and his honourable 
Attendants, repair'd to a spacious Tent prepared for them on the Common, 
from whence his Excellency Review'd the Regiment in their March out 
of the Field, the Officers handsomely performing the proper Salute. The 
Regiment passing thro' the Main Street, repair'd to King-Street, where, 
after performing the Manual Exercises, Firing three Rounds, and giving 
three loud Huzza's, an innumerable Company of Spectators joining with 
them, (his Excellency viewing them from the Balcony of the Council 
Chamber,) each Company was drawn off and dismiss'd : And the Even- 
ing concluded with abundant Expressions of Loyalty & Joy. 

' Capt. Thomas Durrell. See Publications of this Society, viii. 244. 



1909] JDIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 287 

The third royal celebration took place on October 11 in honor of 
the King's coronation, and is thus described in the News-Letter of 
Thursday, October 16: 

Last Saturday being the Anniversary of His Majesty's Coronation, 
the same was observed by the Discharge of the Guns at Castle William ; 
those on board His Majesty's Ship Scarborough, &c. with other Demon- 
strations of Loyalty and Rejoycing. 

Closely following the coronation came the King's birthday on 
October 30, and this, in spite of the snow and cold, was celebrated by 
a bonfire and fireworks on Dorchester Neck, and one poor fellow, 
losing his way in the storm, was frozen to death. In the Weekly 
Journal of Tuesday, November 4, we read : 

Thursday last the 30th of October, being the Birth Day of His Majesty 
King GEORGE the Second, our most gracious Sovereign, when His 
]\Iajesty entred the Fifty third Year of his Life, the same was observed 
here with all possible Demonstrations of Loyalty and Joy. At Noon the 
Guns were discharged at His Majesty's Castle William, and His Excel- 
lency's Troop of Guards, with two other Troops from the County were 
muster'd on the Occasion, and drawn up in King-Street. At Night 
His Excellency's Seat, with divers others, were finely Illuminated on this 
joyfull Occasion. 

The account of this affair in the News-Letter of November 6 con- 
cludes as follows: 

A large bonfire was made at Dorchester-Neck, and many curious Fire- 
Works play'd off; but by reason of thick Weather and a great Fall of 
Snow, the Splendor thereof was much diminish'd, being scarce visible in 
Town. 

The same Night, one Joseph Green of this Town, a labouring Man, 
who had been employed the Day before to assist in erecting a Mast for 
the Bonfire at Dorchester Neck, lost his Way as he was going from the 
Fire to some House or Barn, and the next Morning was found dead in the 
Snow.^ 

' In these days such a death seems extraordinary. The following extract is 
taken from the Boston Evening Post of Monday, January 24, 1737: 

Friday last one Richard Williams, a Chimney-Sweeper at the South End of the 
Town, was found in his Bed froze to Death, where in all probability he had lain 
since Tuesday Night, having never been seen by the Neighbours since that Time. 



288 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

Shortly after this, on November 5, came a similar celebration at 
the same place, it being the anniversary of the famous Gunpowder 
Plot of 1605 in which Guy Fawkes was the active figure; and this day 
too was followed by fatalities, for four young men crossing the harbor 
in a canoe were drowned. The Weekly Journal of Tuesday, Novem- 
ber 11, says: 

On Wednesday last being the 5th of November, the Guns were fired 
at Castle William, in Commemoration of the happy and remarkable 
Deliverance of our Nation from Popery and Slavery, by the Discovery 
of the Gun Powder Plot in the Year 1605 ; and in the Evening there were 
Bonfires, and other Rejoycings.^ 

The same Evening four young Men of this Town went in a Canoe (as 
we are informed) to see the Bonfire on Dorchester Neck, and have not 
been heard of since; which makes it fear'd they were drowned in their 
return home. 

A further account of this fatality is contained in the News-Letter 
of Thursday, November 20 : 

Four Youths that went over from this Town, in a small Boat, to 
Dorchester Neck, to see the Diversions There in the Evening after the 
5th Instant, having not been heard of for some Time after, People had 
various Conjectures concerning them; but it was most generally tho't 
they were drowned in their return Home ; and accordingly it now appears 
that they were, the Bodies of two of them having been found, one on 
Monday and the other on Tuesday last; The Name of one was John 
Darling,* an Apprentice belonging to Mr. Salt the Cooper, and Son of 
Mrs. Darling a Widow in Charlstown ; the other's Name was John Hem- 
menway of this Town, an xVpprentice to Mr. Joseph Hill, Rope-maker: 
The Bodies of the other Two are not yet found. 

This anniversary had been celebrated since the early days of the 
colony, and as the eighteenth century advanced the celebrations be- 
came more boisterous and the turbulent spirits of the community 
caused the authorities much anxiety. At first there were processions 
in which effigies of the Pope and the Devil were carried about the 
streets and finally burned, but near the time of the Revolution, when 

* In the Weekly Journal of November 25, the name given is James Darling. 
This is correct. He was the son of George and Abigail (Ptced) Darling. !See 
Wyman, Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, i. 27G. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 289 

popular feeling against the English ran high, the images of unpopular 
officials like Governor Hutchinson, General Gage, and others were 
added. Just how early these celebrations began iji New England is 
hard to say, but Judge Sewall speaks of one in 1685 as if it were a 
regular occurrence, for he says : 

Mr. Allin preached NovF 5. 1685 finished his Text 1 Jn? 1. 9. 

' mentioned not a word in Prayer or Preaching that I took notice of with 
respect to Gun-powder Treason. . . . Although it rained hard, yet there 
was a Bonfire made on the Comon, about 50 attended it. Friday night 
[November 6] being fair, about two hundred hallowed about a Fire on the 
Coiuon.^ 

Most of the almanacs mentioned the day, as this very one of 
Bowen's, where against November 5 is found "Powder Plot;" and 
Ames's almanac for 1735 has under November the lines — 

Gun Powder Plot 
We ha'nt forgot. 

In his issue for 1740 Ames says : 

Now for the Old Plot, the POPE goes to Pot 

The curst Pope stands in the Way, or I had told you the Day. 

What Heaven decrees, no Prudence can prevent. 

And in the issue for 1746 we read: 

Powder-Plot is not forgot; 

'T will be observed by many a Sot. 

In the issue of 1767 he has so much to say about the growing 
political troubles that he merely adds the line — "Powder plot most 
forgot;" while in the issue for 1772 his allusion brings in the name 
of Captain Preston of the British troops engaged in the Boston 
Massacre ; 

To burn the Pope, is now a joke, 

for a design he miss't on, 

to sap that mansion 

which dares pension 

Your famous Butcher Preston!'^ 

1 Diary, i. 102, 235, 368, 462. 

^ S. Briggs, Essays, Humor and Poems of Nathaniel Ames, pp. 139, 440. 

19 



290 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [Makch, 

Dr. Nathaniel Ames the younger in his Diary under November 5, 
1765, says, "Pope Devil and Stampman exhibited together." ^ 

Captain Francis Goelet, a New York merchant visiting Boston in 
1750, was evidently amused and impressed by what he saw on Pope 
Niirht, for he records in his Journal : 

After dinner went with some of the Comp^ to ye North End the Towne 
Bo* Some Limes &c where we saw the Devil and the Pope &c Carried 
ab*^ by the Mob represented in Effegy very drole soone after see two 
more, but the Justices feareing some Outrages may be Committed Put a 
Stop to them.^ 

It seems that as the custom grew, in Boston there became two 
rival processions, one from the North End and one from the South 
End, each carrying images of the Pope and the Devil, and that they 
marched towards each other and had a skirmish in which the mob 
joined and the victorious band then burned both sets of images. In 
1765 the popular leaders of the town put a stop to this useless quarrel, 
pacified the two factions, formed them into a Union, and brought to 
an end the noisy and turbulent celebration. This Union observed the 
day in a quieter manner with a supper at night; and in this was a 
nucleus that was of service to the patriots in the approaching struggle.^ 
John Boyle mentions this same occurrence : 

1765, Nov. 5. A Union established between the South and North End 
Popes. Capt. M° Intosh on the Part of the South, and Capt. Swift, on the 
Part of the North. It has heretofore been the Practice on the evcn'g of 
the 5th of November, for the two Popes to engage, by which means many 
Persons have been greatly maimed. This Union and one other more 
extensive, may be looked upon as the only happy Effecte arising from 
the Stamp Act. 

This Union was undoubtedly hastened by the fatalities of the year 
before, for Boyle in his Journal for November 5, 1764, says: 

A Child of Mr. Brown's at the North-End was run over by one of the 
Wheels of the North-End Pope and Killed on the Spot. Many others were 
wounded in the evening.* 

' Dedham Historical Register, ii. 27. 

* New England Historical and Genealogical Register, xxiv. 61. 

» Palfrey, Histoiy of New England, v. 339; Snow, History of Boston (1825), 
p. 2G3. 

* John Boyle's Journal, p. 87. For these extracts from this unprinted Journal, 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 291 

This accident impressed others, for John Rowe mentions it in his 
Diary, as well as the fact that it took place in the forenoon : 

1764 Nov. 5. A sorrowful accident happened this forenoon at the 
North End — the wheel of the carriage that the Pope was fixed on run over 
a Boy's head & he died instantly. The Sheriff, Justices, Officers of the 
Militia were ordered to destroy both S° & North End Popes. In the 
afternoon they got the North End Pope pulled to pieces, they went to the 
S° End but could not Conquer upon which the South End people 
brought out their pope & went in Triumph to the Northward and at the 
Mill Bridge a Battle begun between the people of Both Parts of the 
Town. The North End people having repaired their pope, but the South 
End people got the Battle (many were hurt & bruised on both sides) & 
Brought away the North End pope & burnt Both of them at the Gallows 
on the Neck. Several thousand people following them, hallowing &ct.^ 

Several years ago Mr. Albert Matthews ^ made some mention of 
the observances of Pope Day and quoted from articles in Boston 
newspapers of 1821 written by some man who remembered the 
celebrations of the day, though it is probable that after the outbreak 
of the Revolution the day was less frequently celebrated in New 
England.^ Perhaps the one place where it lingered longest is in the 
old town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which clings to many an 
ancient custom, and there even to the present time something is done 
on the evening of November fifth, though the performance has changed 
to the blowing of horns and the carrying about of pumpkin lanterns 
by boys, none of whom know the origin of the celebration,* and even 
the name has been changed to Pork Night 

John Albee of New Castle, New Hampshire, in 1892 bore testimony 
to the survival of the custom in Portsmouth up to that year, saying 
that he had been a resident of New Castle for the preceding twenty- 
six years and that he remembered a celebration in that town each of 
those years. ^ He also furnished clippings from two of the local news- 
papers which told of the doings of 1S02, as follows : 

owned by a member of the Palfrey family, I am indebted to Professor George 
L. Kittredge. 

^ Letters and Diary, p. 67. 

" I am indebted to Mr. Matthews for aid in the preparation of this paper. 

^ Publications of this Society, viii. 90, 91, 92 104. 

* Dialect Notes, i. 18, 217. 

* Journal of American Folk-Lore, v. 335. 



292 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

The celebration of the anniversary of Guy Fawkes' night on Saturday 
by the young people of this city was not so extensive as in former years, no 
doubt owing to the condition of the streets, but nevertheless small bands 
paraded the streets and made the early part of the evening hideous with 
music ( ?) from the tin horns they carried for the occasion. Some carried 
the usual pumpkin lanterns. The ringing of door-bells was also extensively 
indulged in. Very few of the paraders knew that the celebration was in 
keeping of the old English custom of observing the anniversary of the 
discovery of the famous gunpowder plot to blow up the House of 
Commons.^ 

Chaps in this city had their annual blow-out on Guy Fawkes' night, and 
in parts of the city the toot of the horns was something terrific. Some 
grotesque pumpkin lanterns were seen, and altogether the celebration was 
evidently enjoyed by the boys. Portsmouth is not alone in this peculiar 
observance, for down at Marblehead the night of the 5th of November is 
remembered by a huge bonfire on the neck, around which the chaps with 
horns dance in fantastic glee. The blaze Saturday night on the M. N. 
was a bigger one than usual. 

It 's a queer custom the youths of Portsmouth and Marblehead have.^ 

In the early times the day was observed in most of the large New 
England towns as well as in Boston, and there are many casual 
references to it. The Rev. Samuel Deane of Portland makes men- 
tion of it twice in his Journal : " 1770 November 5 Several popes and 
devils tonight;" "1771 November 5 No popes nor devils here to- 
night at my house." * The Rev. Ezra Stiles speaks of it at New- 
port in 1771, saying "Powder Plot, — Pope &ct carried about;" 
and again on November 5, 1774, he says, "This Afternoon three 
popes &ct. paraded thro' the streets, & in the Evening they w^ere 
consumed in a Bonfire as usual — among others were Ld. North, 
Gov. Hutchinson & Gen. Gage." * John Adams, attending court 
at Salem on Wednesday, November 5, 1766, says: 

Spent the evening at Mr. Pynchon's, with Farnham, Sewall, Sargeant, 
Col. Saltonstall &ct. very agreeably. Punch, wine, bread and cheese, 

' Portsmouth Republican News, Monday, November 7, 1892. 
^ Portsmouth Daily Evening Times, November 7, 1S92. 

^ Journals of tlie Rev. Thomas Smith and the Rev. Samuel Deane, pp. 329, 
331. 

* Literary Diary, i. 182, 470. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 293 

apples, pipes and tobacco. Popes and bonfires this evening at Salem, 
and a swarm of tumultuous people attending.^ 

Coffin gives an excellent account in much detail of the way the day 
was celebrated in Newbury and says that the last celebration was in 
1775, the principal cause of its discontinuance being an unwillingness 
to displease the French, whose assistance was deemed so advanta- 
geous at that time. As the observance of the day at Newburyport 
was probably typical of those in other large New England towns, it 
is interesting to quote what Coffin says of it : 

In the day time, companies of little boys might be seen, in various parts 
of the town, with their little popes, dressed up in the most grotesque and 
fantastic manner, which they carried about, some on boards, and some on 
little carriages, for their own and others' amusement. But the great 
exhibition was reserved for the night, in which young men, as well as boys, 
participated. They first constructed a huge vehicle, varying at times, 
from twenty to forty feet long, eight or ten wide, and five or six high, from 
the lower to the upper platform, on the front of which, they erected a paper 
lantern, capacious enough to hold, in addition to the lights, five or six 
persons. Behind that, as large as life, sat the mimic pope, and several 
other personages, monks, friars and so forth. Last, but not least, stood 
an image of what was designed to be a representation of old Nick himself, 
furnished with a pair of huge horns, holding in his hand a pitchfork, and 
otherwise accoutred, with all the frightful ugliness that their ingenuity 
could desire. Their next step, after they had mounted their ponderous 
vehicle on four wheels, chosen their officers, captain, ■ first and second 
lieutenant, purser and so forth, placed a boy under the platform, to 
elevate and move round, at proper intervals, the moveable head of the 
pope, and attached ropes to the front part of the machine, was, to take 
up their line of march through the principal streets of the town. Some- 
times in addition to the images of the pope and his company, there might 
be found, on the same platform, half a dozen dancers and a fiddler, whose 

* Hornpipes, ji,<^s, strathspeys, and reels 
Put life and mettle iu their heels,' 

together with a large crowd who made up a long procession. Their 
custom was, to call at the principal houses in various parts of the town, 
ring their bell, cause the pope to elevate his head, and look round upon 
the audience, and repeat the following lines. 

1 Works, ii. 201. 



294 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [MARCH, 

* The fifth of November, 
As you well remember. 
Was guu powder treason and plot; 
I know of no reason 
Why the gunpowder treason 
Should ever be forgot. 

When the first King James the sceptre swayed, 
This hellish powder plot was laid. 
Thirty-six barrels of powder placed down below 
All for old England's overthrow : 
Happy the man, and happy the day 
That caught Guy Fawkes in the middle of his play. 
You'll hear our bell go jink, jink, jink ; 
Pray madam, sirs, if you '11 something give, 
We '11 burn the dog and never let him live. 
We '11 burn the dog without his head, 
And then you '// say the dofj is dead. 
From Rome, from Rome, the pope is come. 
All in ten thousand fears ; 
The fiery serpent's to be seen, 
All head, mouth, nose and ears. 
The treacherous knave had so contrived, 
To blow king parliament all up alive. 
God by his grace he did prevent 
To save both king and parliament. 
Happy the man, and happy the day, 
That catched Guy Fawkes in the middle of his play. 
Match touch, catch prime. 
In tlie good nick of time. 
Here i.s the pope that we have got, 
The whole promoter of the plot. 
We '11 stick a pitchfork in his back 
And throw him in the fire.'. 

After the verses were repeated, the purser stepped forward and took up 
his collection. Nearly all on whom they called, gave something. Esquire 
Atkins and Esquire Dalton, always gave a dollar apiece. After peram- 
bulating the town, and finishing their collections, they concluded their 
evening's entertainment with a splendid supper; after making with the 
exception of the wheels and the heads of the efiigies, a bonfire of the 
whole concern, to which were added, all the wash tubs, tar barrels, and 
stray lumber, that they could lay their hands on. With them the custom 
was, to steal all the stuff. But those days have long since passed away.^ 

WTien we read such accounts as this, w'hat wonder is it that towns 
should pass ordinances against bonfires on the night of November 
fifth? Even as early as 1753 these celebrations had caused enough 

» History of Newbury, pp. 249-251. 



1909] DIAEY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 295 

anxiety for the Province to pass "An Act for further preventing all 
riotous, tumultuous and disorderly Assemblies or Companies of 
Persons, and for preventing Bonfires in any of the Streets or Lanes 
within any of the Towns of this Province." ^ Finally, in many places 
all the sport was obliged to take place in the day time. And in Boston, 
where just before the Revolution the two rival processions with 
hostile intentions towards one another created such a tumult, lead- 
ing citizens used their influence to unite the two factions and then 
subscribed money for a supper and a more peaceful entertainment 
for the would-be participants. And so this old New England cele- 
bration gradually died out except in Portsmouth and possibly one or 
two other places, and even there it has undergone so great a change 
that none of its original features are left, and few if any of the par- 
ticipants know the significance of the day or even its old-time name. 



DIARY 2 

JANUARY 

1 [ ] 

2 fair pleasant warm. 

3 Rain w^ E. and S.E. 

» Massachusetts Province Laws, iii. 647, 997, iv. 78, 617; v, 87, 459, 1122. 
2 On the first page is written in inlv : 

Rev. Mr. Checkley of Boston appears to have been the author of the notices 

entered in this Almanac. M.A.S. 
May 4, 1837. 

The top of the volume has been trimmed, thereby cutting off a few entries. 
Where these are undecipherable, square brackets are used. 

There are no entries on the following days: January 15, February 18, 19, 
March 6, 19, July 8, October 8, November 8, 24, 26, December 17, 18. 

The word "fair," and that only, is entered on the following days: February 
26, March 25, May 7, June 10, 16, 21, July 3, 21, August 6, October 7. 

The words "fair pleasant," and those only, are entered on the follo\^ing days: 
February 6, 7, 10, 27, March 22, 26, April 17, 18, May 5, 6, 14, 16, 26, 27, 28, 
June 25, 26, 27, July 19, 22, 24, 30, August 11, 15, 16, 18, 25, September 6, 12, 13, 
15, 20, October 2, 10, 18, 22, November 5, 10, 22, 25. 

The following days are labelled "hot," "cold," "cool," "dry," "moderate," 
"seasonable," "cloudj'," or in some such indefinite way: January 6, 7, 10, 24, 
25, March 8, 10, 11, 12, April 9, 11, 21, 30, May 1, 9, 10, 21, 31, June 5, 7, 13, 
July 17, August 21, 23, 30, September 4, 18, 23, 29, 30, October 17, November 3, 
4, 11, 29, December 6, 11, 13, 23. 



296 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

4 fair warm. 

5 E.^ prd all day. W^^ N.E. Snow and Stormy at night. 

8 fair & cold 

9 fair very cold. 

11 fair warm & pleasant. 

12 E. Sac* pr^ all day — moderate 

13 Rain w^ S.E. 

14 fair warm. 

16 Cloudy p.m. pretty much rain Even: 

17 fair very high wind & Extream cold. 

18 very cold Day old Cap* Bennet ^ buried. 

19 E. M'" Foxcroft. A.M. Snow very Stormy & cold p.m. the water 
for Bap™ frozen. This Day (being Lords Day) it began to Snow before 
morning Service was over and increas'd very much. The afternoon was 
very Stormy it Snow'd fast & wind blew very hard at N.E. The storm 
increased towards Even : — & the night following it raind & blew as 
hard as I allmost ever knew it. The next Day fair very cold and Shppery. 
Several vessells cast away in the Storm a Lords day night. It was so cold 
a Lords Day that the water for Baptism was considerably frozen. 

20 fair very cold & Slippery 

21 fair more moderate. 

22 fair pleasant, flurry of Snow Even : then very cold. 

23 Extream cold Richard Flood ^ buried. 

26 E. pr^ all Day. Cloudy, some Small rain & foggy. 

27 Cloudy foggy. Nieg"" Barter's Daughter buried. 

28 fair pleasant. Cloudy Even : little Snow in night. 

29 fair pretty cold old M'' Cunningham * buried. 

30 fair cold Day. 

31 pleasant. 

FEBRUARY 

1 fair a.m. Cloudy p.m. w^ E. Snow at night very Stormy the 
most snow we've had this winter. 

2 E. pr^ all Day. Wet Snow a.m. not very cold. 

3 Some Snow. & some rain. w<^ S.E. 

4 Cloudy, then fair moderate 

5 fair & cold. 

S pleasant moderate weather. 



' See p. 272, above. "^ See p. 281, above. 

» See p. 281, above. « See p. 281, above. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 297 

9 E. Sac* : pr^ all day 

11 fair cold. 

12 fair. Cloudy p.m. Snow at night about 3 inches deep. 

13 fair. Exceed: cold p.m. & Even : 

14 Exceed Smart cold last night & to day. moderate at Even: 

15 Wet Snow good part of day W^ S.E. 

16 E. Chang'd w*-^ M"" Chauncy. a.m. fair pleasant 

17 Rain last night, foggy & rain to day 

20 fair pleasant Cap* Goold's Kinswoman buried. 

21 fair pleasant Spring like weather. 

22 fair pleasant — but raw East : w'^ 

23 E. Changed w*^ M'' Gee a.m. pleasant 

24 Cloudy foggy M"" Nicholson's Child buried. 

25 Rain. W'^ S.E. James Ferguson buried much rain at night and 
High wind. 

28 Cloudy, raw E. Wind. 

MARCH 

1 rain w** E.S.E. A.M. fair & very warm p.m. 

2 E. prd all Day. fair A.M. Cloudy p.m. rain Even : w^ N.E. 

3 w'^ N.E. Cloudy foggy. & rain 

4 Cloudy, then fair and windy. 

5 wind last night Exceed : high at South. 
7 Little Snow in morning. 

9 E. Sac* pr*^ all day. very Smart cold. 

13 fair. Windy p.m. & Even looks hke Storm M"" Burgain* buried. 

14 Little rain, fair p.m. 

15 Several Showers p.m. Light^ & very hard Thunder. This day 
we had Several Thunder Showers, they rose from the west and northwest 
very black, it raind very hard and hail'd. Thunderd & Lightned 
often & one Clap exceeding hard. 

16 E. M'- John Cotton ' all day. fair pretty cold. 

17 Snow all day & very Stormy, as much Snow as has fell at a time 
this winter This morning about 7 a Clock it began to Snow, wind at 
South and then came north, it Snow'd all day. & was very Stormy w'^ at 
N. West as much Snow fell this day as has at one time this winter, it was 
a moist heavey Snow but if light & dry would have been (it is Judgd) a 
foot deep 

18 fair & cold. Several flurrys of Snow w*'^ wind towards Even: 

» See p. 281, above. ' See p. 275, above. 



298 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

very cold but fair. Several flurries of Snow towards night & in Even: 
with wind and very cold, the lighthouse boat overset and one man 
drownd 

20 fair. Cloudy Even. 

21 very Stormy it Snowd all day. w^ E. & N.E. more Snow than 
has fell this winter at once. Early in the morn : it began to Snow and 
was very Stormy wind East, it held Snowing & was very stormy all day 
w'* E. & N.E. as Stormy a Day as we have for years together, and 
more Snow fell this day than has fallen at once the Winter past. 

23 E. prd for M'' Byles A.M. D^" Sewall pr^ for me A.M. fair. 

24 Cloudy then Exeeding stormy all Day : vid : backside ^ Cloudy in 
the morning then rain and Stormy, the storm increasd all afternoon and 
Even : it raind it snowd and it haild. and the w^ at N.E. blew as hard as 
Ever I knew it in my life. Most Houses shook very much and great 
damage was done to the Wharfs and shipping, the wind and storm 
abated about midnight. A more terrific storm scarce known. 

27 The Annual Fast, pr^ all day. fair pleasant. 

28 fair Springlike weather 

29 fair, looks like fowl weather p.m. 

30 E. M"" Byles A.M. I pr^ for M"^ Chauncy A.M. rain Even wind & 
Snow 

31 Great deal of rain. M'' M^Lorry ^ Child buried. 

N B. more storms of rain Snow and wind this month than all the Winter 
& for many winters past. 



APRIL 

1 rain in morn: then fair D"" Colmans Daug'' TuriP buried at 
Medford 

2 rain. 

3 rain A.M. fair p.m. 

4 Cloudy foggy weather. 

5 Cloudy foggy a.m. fair p.m. Cap* Homans arrived. 

6 E. Sac*: pr^ all day. fair pleasant. 

7 fair pleasant, a.m. rain Thund' & light: p.m. This day in 
afternoon it came up very Black then raind and haild in midst of which 

> What follows is written on the other side of the leaf. 

2 This name is uncertain. It might be "M^Long" or "MoLorey." On May 
2, 1734, Mr. Checkley married "Thomas McLory & Isabella Hood" (Boston 
Record Commissioners' Reports, xxviii. 186). 

« See p. 283, above. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV, SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 299 

a great deal of Sharp Lightning & hard Thunder. The lightning struck 
the Ball upon the Steeple of the old South Church but hurt nothing else. 
8 fair cool. 
10 fair, raw wind. 

12 fair warm day. 

13 E. M"" Chauncey. A.M. very warm hazy. 

14 fair & very warm. 

15 rain. Stormy w"^ N.E. very cold 

16 fair. M' Allen ^ dy'd. 

19 fair. M'" Silence Allen buried and Rew'^ M"" Tayler's wife ^ of 
Milton. 

20 E. Chang'd w^^^ M"" Byles A.M. very hot. 

22 warm pleasant. 

23 fair pleasant Cap* Arthur Savage ^ buried. 

24 raw cold, some rain towards Even: 

25 rain, cold Storm w^^ N.E. 

26 rain, cold & stormy w*^ N.E. 

27 E. M"" Chauncey A.M. I pr^ for D'" Sewall a.m. very raw cold. 
& some rain w^^ N.E. 

28 rain last night Cloudy to day a.m. fair p.m. 

29 very squally and cold, a consider^® frost last night. 



MAY 

2 fair. M"" Greenleafs child buried. 

3 fair M' Hall's Son buried. 

4 E. Sac* : pr'' all day. rain morn : fair p.m. 
8 fair, raw cold p.m. 

11 E. pr^ all day. warm and windy. 

12 Cloudy, rain. 

13 fair. M'' Jackson buried, a Shower w**^ Light^ and Thunder, at 
1 a Clock 

15 went to Natick and pr^ Lecture there. 

17 fair pleasant, hot weather. 

18 E. chang'd w*'^ D"" Sewall a.m.- pleasant. Shower p,m. 

19 fair M^^ Webber buried, 

20 fair, very windy p.m. 

22 Fast at old Ch: for reviv' of religion* &c 

» See p'. 281, above. ^ See p. 283, above. 

» See p. 281, above, * See p. 279, above. 



1 



300 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

23 Stormy w'^ at N.E. rain & cold. 

24 rain last night and to day. w^^ N.E. very cold. Madam Oliver * 
buried 

25 E. M'' Eliot ' A.M. I pr^ for M^^ Byles A.M. fair weather 

29 fair pleasant. M'^^ Deming buried. 

30 raw E. w^ foggy A.M. M" Hall buried. 



JUNE 

1 E. Sac* M' Cotton ^ (of Hampton) P.M. little rain. 

2 fair, pretty Dry time. 

3 foggy then fair. 

4 fair & hot. Cap* Dorby * buried. 
6 Weather very hot. Deacon Powning dy'd about 5 h. p.m. 

8 E. M'' Cusliing ' (of Dover) a.m. Weather cooler. 

9 fair, dry time. Deacon Powning *• buried. 

11 Cloudy a.m. little rain. 

12 fair pleasant but dry weather, 

14 very dry time, and cold for season vid: overleaf.' very dry 
weather for a Consid'^ time, and in some places there have been this 
week considerable frosts ( & some Ice) which have much hurt and Spoild 
the English Grain. 

15 E. M"- Green « (of Barnstable) P.M. 

17 dry weather, little Sprinkling. 

18 fair, very sharp lightning in Even : & Some rain. 

19 fair, hot and dry weather. 

20 a Shower p.m. w*^ Thund'" & Light^. 

22 E. M"" Chauncy a.m. S. w^ very high. 

23 Great deal of rain. Thund"^ & Light^ p.m. then fair. 

24 Fast at our Ch: for Revival of religion, vid: overleaf.' This 

day was kept by our Church in their turn as Day of fasting and prayer I 

for the Revival of Religion &c M'' Abbot prayd & D' Sewall preachd 
A.M. M"" Cooper prayd and I preachd p.m. 

28 Cloudy looks like a Storm. This Day M"" Hadwins son (a Lad 
of about 12 years old) was drownd at Bottom of the Comon. 

' See p. 282, above. -• . ! = See p. 276, above. 

' See p. 276, above. ,,'•'• •* See p. 282, above. 

* See p. 276, above. " See p. 282, above. 

^ What follows is written on the other side of the leaf. 

^ See p. 276, above. 

" What follows is written on the other side of the leaf. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 301 

29 E. Sac* : M*- Ward Cotton ^ p.m. 

30 fair hot. 

JULY 

1 [ 1 , 

2 consid'® want of rain. 

4 Comencment at Cambridge, some rain, w'^ N.E. 

5 Some rain last night. Cloudy drisling to day rain towards Even : 

6 E. M'' Cushing ^ (of Salsbury) A.M. Rain last night, and sev- 
eral hard Showers to day. 

7 fair D"^ Rand Still House burnt. This Day D'' Rand Still House 
took fire just before one a Clock & was presently burnt down.^ Sev- 
eral other Houses in danger but preserv'd. 

9 Some rain p.m. litde Thund"^ & Light^. 

10 Mary Jepson came to live w*^ us. 

11 Cloudy then fair w*^ cool at N.E. 

12 Cloudy foggy then fair. 

13 E. Changd w^^^ M^ Byles A.M. rain w*^ Thund-- & Light^ p.m. 
& in Even : This Day (being Lords Day) there was a shower with 

some Thunder & Lightning just before the afternoon service, and 
towards night & in y« Even : there was abundance of rain Thunder & 
Lightning. M"" Loring's Barn (at Hull) burnt by y^ Lightning about 
8 a Clock in Even : and 2 more places Struck with y^ Thunder in that 
Town. 

14 Cloudy, some rain. 

15 Some rain a.m. fair p.m. M'' John Fitch * buried. 

16 fair very hot. 

18 very hot. a shower p.m. & Even : w*^ Thundi" & Light^. 
20 E. D^" Colman a.m. M"^ Hinsdel ^ p.m. litde rain p.m. 
23 little rain then fair. 

25 Looks like fowl weather Even: 

26 Cloudy. Rain, w^ N.E. 

27 E. Sac* : pr^ all day. little rain a.m; fair p.m. 

28 very hot. Rain wind terrible Thunder &c p.m. vid. Mid : ^ This 
afternoon it came up very black then the wind blew very hard, in 
midst of which it ramd very hard and we had terrible Thunder & 
Lightning the Thunder struck and did much damage to Deacon Williams's 

1 See p. 276, above. ' See p. 277, above. 

» See p. 284, above. * See p. 282, above. 

* See p. 277, above. 

^ What follows is written on another leaf in the middle of the book. 



302 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

House in y® Coluon. it also struck Judge Palmer's House and struck 
down 2 men in the street. The Thunder as Loud as I ever I heard espes : 
2 Claps of it. 

29 very hot. 2 men dy'd in well on Long wharfe by reason of the 
Damp &c. This day 2 men lost y'' lives going down into a well on Long 
Wharfe y« Damp Suffocated and chilled y™ and they were gone at 
once. This Day M"" Scarlet's negro poisond his Master Mistress and 2 
Children by putting Rats bane into y'' Chocolet ^ 

31 fair, little rain p.m. 

AUGUST 

1 fair little rain p.m. very much Light^ at night. This afternoon a 
Small shower, and in the Even : abundance of Lightning. The Lightning 
continued greatest part of the night. 

2 hot Muggy. Several Showers. 

3 E. M'' Gushing 2 (of*Haverhil) a.m. Showers p.m. & in y^ Even: 
much rain some Thund'' & gr* deal of Light^. 

4 fair pleasant. A Shower just as meeting began p.m. and Towards 
Even: it came up very black in the N. West. Then raind very hard, 
with abundance of Lightning and some Thunder but not very hard. 

5 fair a.m. rain p.m. w<^ N.E. 

7 Cloudy. Great deal p.m. & Even :• 

8 Cloudy. 

9 abund: of rain very Stormy & high tide vid: overleaf.^ This 
morning it set in for to rain and raind Exceed : hard greatest part of the 
Day. The wind blew very hard at E. & S.E. The tide was very high 
did some Damage to wharfs •&c as much rain fell to Day as (I think) I 
ever knew. 

10 E. p'''^ all day. Cloudy. Rain. Rain hard in Even : 

12 fair a.m. a Shower p.m. w*"^ Thurfd'" & Light^. 

13 A shower w*^ Thunder & Lightn^ about 5 a Clock in morn : and 
several showers in the day with Thunder & light^. fair Even: This 
morn: about 5 a Clock we had a shower with Thunder & Lightning, 
another shower between 7 & 8 Several afterwards. 

14 cool morn: fair pleasant. 

17 E p'^'i all day. fair, hot day. 

19 Cloudy, some rain p.m. 

20 cool morn : fair pleasant. 
22 pleasant. 

» See p. 285, above. ^ Sec p. 277, above. 

' What follows is written on the other side of the leaf. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 303 

24 E. Sac* : pr^ all day. great deal of rain. 

26 Fast at M"" Welstcd's for revival of relig : M"" Burd's ' Child buried. 

27 Extream hot. M"" Brattle olivers child buried. 

28 very hot. M''^ Ethelridge buried. 

29 fair very hot. 

31 E. M^ Cooper A.M. a Shower p.m. w*'^ Thund*" & Lightning 

SEPTEMBER 

1 fair pleasant. M'' Bennet buried. 

2 fair a.m. very hard shower p.m. Light^ in Even : & then fair 

3 cool morn: Madam Palmer^ buried. 

5 w* to Newtown pr^ M'' Cotton's Lecture, rain a.m. fair p.m. 

7 E. pr'^ all Day. cool morn: 

8 Cloudy raw N.E. w^ Rain Stormy Even: • 

9 Abund: of rain last night & to day A.M. w*^ Exceed: high at 
N.E. fair at night. Last night & to day a.m. a very Great Storm of 
wind and rain, it was very raw yesterday w*^ at N.E. & in Even began 
to rain & blow hard. The wind continued Exceed: high (and it raind 
very hard all y^ time) til near noon next Day. 

10 fair very cool. M"" Ethridge's Child buried. 

1 1 fair cool morn : 

14 E. Changd ^th Chauncey a.m. 

16 fair, warm Hazy weather sun very red 

16 1 These two days the weather very warm & Hazy not a Cloud in 

17 J the sky these 2 days & y° sun very red and fiery. 
17 warm Hazy weather, sun very red. 

19 fair cool. 

21 E. Sac* : pr^ all day. very warm Hazy Sun very red 

23 Fast at Charlestown for reviv^ of relig : very foggy a.m. 

24 M"" Stimpson ^ ordained at Maiden. 

25 rain last night & this morning, then fair. 

26 fair cold N.E. W^ 

27 Carry'd my Wife and Child to Watertown fair pleasant 

28 E. Changd w^^ M"" Byles A.M. 

OCTOBER 

1 [ ] N.E. wind. 

3 fair pleasant my wife and Child returnd from Watertown 

' Perhaps this name is " Burch's." ^ See p. 283, above. 

" See p. 279, above. 



304 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

4 fair pleasant, w*^ E. 

5 E. M'' Cambell ^ a.m. I pr^ at Almshouse a.m. Rain at night 
very Sharp light^ and some Thunder in Even: This Day (being Lords 
day) it was Cloudy & warm. In the Evening it raind. There were 
several very sharp flashes of Lightning accompanied w*"^ pretty loud 
Thunder, rain allmost all the night following. 

6 Cloudy wind N.E. 
9 fair very pleasant. 

11 windy. Cloudy. Some rain p.m. 

12 E. M"- EHot A.M. fair cool. 

13 fair cool morn: 

14 fair a.m. Cloudy raw & windy p.m. Rain at night. 

15 Rain w^ South. 

16 fair cold and very windy. 

19 E. Sac* : pr*^ all day. foggy, then fair pleasant. 

20 Some rain p.m. 

21 Cloudy. Some rain. 

23 Cloudy. Rain, w^ S. 

24 Cloudy, some Rain w^ S. 

25 fair cool, cold & windy at night. 

26 E. Chang'd w*** M"* Byles. fair and cold all day pr^ to young men 
in Evening. 

27 fair & cold. 

28 Cloudy. Snow p.m. very Stormy at night, w^ N.E. This day it 
was Cloudy & very raw a.m. wind at N.E. in after noon it Snowd fast & 
continued all Even : & night was very Stormy, y* next morn : Snow was 
about 8 inches deep, and y^ Day following it Snow'd great part of day. 
the first Snow this fall. & a Great deal of it. 

29 Snow 8 inches deep. Snow good part of y® day. 

30 Fair morn : Snow p.m. very Stormy even : This Day in after- 
noon it began to Snow and Snowd very hard & was very stormy til 
between 10 & 11 Clock at night. In night it was very cold & blew very 
hard. The same Day (being Kings Birth Day) a consid'^ number of 
people went over to Dorchester neck to make a Bonfire & play off fire- 
works in Even : and one poor man (named Green) was found next morn : 
in Snow frozen to Death.^ 

31 fair & very cold more Snow on ground than has been at this time 
for many years. 

*See p. 279, above. » See pp. 284, 287, above. 



1909] DIARY OF THE REV. SAMUEL CHECKLEY, 1735 305 

NOVEMBER 

1 fair very cold 

2 E. pr'^ all day fair very cold. 

5 fair pleasant.^ This Day (being Gun powder treason)^ a Great 
number of people went over to Dorchester neck where at night they made 
a Great Bonfire and plaid off many fireworks, afterwards 4 young men 
coming home in a Canoe were all Drownd. They were not heard of til 
17 & or 18 Day & then two of them were taken up dead on y® flatts near 
the Channel and brot to Boston where the Jewry sat upon y™ the next 
Day they were buried one at Charlestown where his friends liv'd the 
other in this Town. 

6 fair, cold day. 

7 fair cold. 

9 E. M^ Willord ^ (of Biddiford) a.m. fair pleasant. 

12 Cloudy & warm, fair p.m. 

13 The Annual Thanksgiving pr"^ all day fair very pleasant. 

14 rain w*^ E. 

15 fair. M''^ Luce * buried. Mr Hatch's sons came to live at our 
House 

16 E. Sac*: M^ James Gushing^ p.m. 

17 fair. Cloudy p.m. 

18 Rain last night & to day. 

19 fair & cold. 

20 fair cold. M"" Jos : Hills Prentice burid y* was drownd see over- 
leaf « 

21 fair, looks like fowl weather. M''^ Blins sister buried 
23 E. old M"" Hancock ' (of Lexington) p.m. Fair pleasant 

27 fair cold. Cloudy p.m. little Snow & rain at night 

28 fair slippery raw cold. 

30 E. Pr'^ all Day. little rain a.m. fair p.m. 

DECEMBER 

1 fair but very cold.* 

2 fair. M"" Jn° Davenport ' buried. 

* This entry is on the other side of the leaf, and of course was not made 
until about a fortnight later. 

= See pp. 288-295, above. ^ g^e p. 278, above. 

* See p. 283, above. « See p. 277, above. 

^ This refers to the entry under date of November 5. See p. 288, above. 
' See p. 278, above. ^ This entry is somewhat uncertain. 

» See p. 283, above. 

20 



306 THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS [March, 

3 fair a.m. Cloudy p.m. & warm. 

4 Great deal of rain last night & to day. w<^ E. & S.E. 

5 Wind very high last night & to day fair & cold. 

7 E. M"" Breck ^ a.m. Stormy Snow all day. 

8 fair and cold. M"" Burbeen's son buried. 

9 fair cold. 

10 pleasant. M'' Cole buried. 

12 Pretty deal of rain. M-" Jn^ Hoods Child buried. 

14 E. Sac* : pr^ all Day. fair. cold. . 

15 fair moderate 

16 Rain, fair p.m. Rich<i Estabrooks buried. 

19 My wife sick of fever. 

20 many people sick w*^ colds fever and sore throats. 

21 E. M"" Cleverly a.m. M^ Mather, p.m. I was confin'd to my 
Chamber by great cold &c Snow very stormy. 

22 fair very cold. 

24 fair, moderate, one of M'' Hatchs w* home 

25 fair, very smart cold day. 

26 very smart cold day. more moderate towards Even : 

27 Cloudy. Snow a little p.m. 

28 E. M"" Chauncy A.M. a very smart cold Day. 

29 fair and cold. 

30 Stormy. Snow all day. 

31 Stormy Snow allmost all day Concludes y^ year. 

* 

» See p. 278, above. 



LIBRftRV OF CONGRESS 



014 077 986 6 



